The Witch and the Christmas Spirit

The Witch and the Christmas Spirit by SlimCricket are another feather in their cap for a FAB and always FUN app. This endearing Witch from the Halloween Forest is as lovable as Tomie dePaola's Strega Nona, and maybe there is even a slight resemblance. Slim Cricket develops apps that are a combination of delightful stories, games, characters, and cartoons. In this adventure, the Witch and Santa's elf in training, Peepo, need to get Christmas back on track and the Witch has plenty of magic up her sleeve to help. BTW, Peepo is a great companion throughout the tale and you will just love his nose! This app never seizes to surprise from building a snowman after a bit of math, then shaking the device to make it snow, and using your voice with your microphone to wake up the silly sleeping Santa.

Your child will also be given the message about what Christmas Spirit is all about. At first, we were concerned that the game level may limit the audience to older children only, but the simple on screen settings allow for changing the difficulty level for the games from easy, too hard -making the app suitable for an audience of 4 to 8+ years of age. The settings also allow for three different languages: English, French, and German. The Read to Me or Read by Myself options make the app a totally different experience allowing children or parents to read without the narration and enjoy the birds, weather, and all the snoring. You will have to splurge on the IAP to find out what all the snoring is about and we don't want to ruin the surprise and tell you the complete plot! There is also a surprise scavenger hunt at the end and even though Christmas is close I believe that this app will get plenty of time off the shelf with its varied activities. Oh, and the reindeer obstacle course is bound to be a favorite as Santa's reindeer need to shed a few pounds and avoid the chimneys and the chips. Just the right mix of story, game, and interactivity with such a humorous concept of having the Halloween Witch rescuing Christmas, smiles all around for all, and to all a good night!

Jayne Clare is dedicated to being in the forefront of the ever-changing digital landscape. She has been working directly with students and startups and recognizing what works and what doesn’t, along with the why behind both. Jayne co-founded Teachers With Apps in 2011.